The Stakes
by StoryGal85
Summary: What if the characters from Magnificent Seven had mutated abilities? Here's where you get to find out...


**The Stakes**

Vin Tanner edged down the narrow windowsill to a point where he could listen to the conversation inside. The young man had seen several of the nation's top leaders in the Mutant Registration Act go inside the hotel room and he felt certain they were up to no good.

"I could just burst in there and kill them all," Vin thought but as quickly as the thought came it left. Tanner knew that he would never do anything of the sort and besides, if he killed them it would just make their point drive home harder. No mutant would be safe. Vin leaned bck against the cool wall and sighed, thinking of all the innocent kids that had the misfortune to be born a mutant in a mutant intolerant world. "Let's just hope they have it easier than I did," the young mutant whispered under his breath as he settled in to a nook where he could hear what was going on inside.

M7-X-Men

"Well his mutation must not be flying or else he would have found this task a bit easier," Team 7's Ezra Standish stated as he lowered his infored binoculars and turned back to the other two men in the van with him. One, a huge slightly blue man covered in fur spoke up.

"If he is indeed a mutant. All our information that led us to believe that he is one was all based on hearsay."

The slim black man rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Well even if it was all hearsay I believe this is the man we have been looking for. Weapon-X."

M7-X-Men

Chris Larabee looked down into his glass of water and sighed. It had been three months since he had quit drinking and truth be told, he felt great! But every once in a while there would come an urge and it was all he could do to keep from drowning all his sorrows in a bottle like he used to. It had taken the determination and grit of Larabee's oldest friend, Buck Wilmington to convince him that his life was not over. To convince him that Sarah and Adam's deaths were not the end of the world. But their memories still haunted him like a plaugue. Without Buck's constant moral support Larabee knew that he would be on a one way trip to the gutter... or the grave.

"Hey there, Pard," Buck's cheerful voice cut in to Chris's musings. "You haven't eaten any of your pizza. What's wrong?"

Chris smiled and leaned back in his chair, "Just not hungry I guess..." A sudden sound of breaking glass cut off the rest of Larabee's sentence. Jumping to his feet he raced outside the resaurant just in time to see a young man dissapear around the corner of a building with the police in hot pursuit. Chris did a double take was it his imagination or beneath the long cape the kid was wearing did he have a tail? Swinging his gaze back to the police van the officers had abandoned he realized they were not police, they were GIF.

"Come on, Buck," Chris shouted behind him as he took off towards the alley the youth had ducked into, we have to help that kid."

Buck sighed thinking of all that beautiful pizza gone to waist then he followed Larabee into the darkness.

M7-X-Men

Vin heard the sound of running feet and distant sirens and knew he'd been found out. The GIF was coming for him. They would do experiments on him becuse of his unusual powers, they would cut him open..._Stop it!_ Vin mentally calmed himself. _You've been in worse situations than this. You won't be caught. They are probably after someone else anyway.._ The lone figure running down the alley confirmed to Tanner's frantic mind that the GIF had not found him out. But then his sense of justice kicked in. No matter how badly he did not want to go back to the underground lab he knew that he had to help this young mutant. The fact that the kid was a mutant was quite obvious because of his long tail that whipped about wildly behind him as if it had a mind of it's own.

Waiting until the GIF men were directly below him Vin extended his ten inch adamantium claws and jumped down onto three of the men, his momentum knocking them out against the concrete sidewalk. The young mutant had stopped and turned to face his rescuer with a look of astonishment on his face. Vin retracted the claws and smiled at the young man in an attempt to calm him.

"It's ok, I'm one of the good guys," Vin said with a grin.

The young mutant stepped foreward and pushed back his hood revealing that he had dark blue almost black skin covered with intracate raised tatoos. "Thanks for your help, Mister. My name is JD, what's yours?"

"Tanner," Vin started to say but was cut off by a bullet cutting across his shoulder. He staggered backwards as JD watched in horror. But the older mutant did not fall he just took a deep breath and popped his neck from side to side, turning to face the GIF re-enforcements as he did so. "Well boys, if that was the best you've got I guess this little party's over..." But before Tanner could extend his claws once moe the GIF men suddenly rose into the air and their guns were ripped from their grasp. Vin glanced around and saw at the end of the alley two men. One was dressed all in black and a black duster billowed out around him. He had his hands in the air, holding the metaphysical ties to the men helplessly floating in the air. The other casually held a fireball suspended a few inches away from his palm in readyness if more GIF showed up.

Realizing that the situation could get out of hand if they were to remain where they were, Larabee sat the burdan he was holding up on top of the roof of a nearby four story building then he mentally locked the door from the inside so that they could not get down anytime soon. "We've got to get out of here," Chris said motioning for the two younger mutants to follow him as he turned towards the street. A van screeched to a halt blocking the entrance and before Chris could do anything an immaculatly dressed man wearing a metal helmet jumped out. He motioned for them to step foreward.

"My name is, Ezra Standish," he said slowly walking foreward, holding his hands out to the side in a display of peace. "I know what your probably thinking but I am not GIF, I am a mutant as well."

"Well this is just old home week," Larabee said sarcasticly. "What do you want?"

"I mearly wish to implore you to join our humble group of mutants fighting for equality and acceptance," Standish elaborated.

Larabee started to answer but was cut off by JD's insistant tugging on his sleeve. "Excuse me, but Tanner's hurt. He was shot in the shoulder!"

"I'm fine kid," Tanner said.

"If your hurt then you'd better let me look at you," Nathan Jackson said as he jumped from the van and walked over to the young mutant. Vin shied back from the healers touch. Nathan realized that he had better take it easy with this one. "Please let me look at your shoulder. I will not hurt you. I'm a healer," Nathan soothed as he once again reached out for the young man's shoulder. Carefully pulling Vin's bloodied jean jacket away from the wound, Nathan gently felt around to see what damage there was. To his shock, despite all the blood and the holes in the fabric of the jacket and shirt there was no wound! Not the slightest trace of the bullet that had ripped through the young man's body not thirty seconds earlier!

"Well...I think I know why this one's so special," Nathan said to Ezra as he stepped away from Vin, his eyes wide.

Ezra looked over at the blue skinned man just emerging from the van then glanced back over at the dark healer. "And why is that, Mr. Jackson?"

"He has a remarkable regenerative capability, which means he can heal rapidly. There is not even a mark from the bullet that hit him a few minutes ago but you can see all the blood on his jacket and the hole straight through. He was indeed hit."

Vin looked at Nathan with wild eyes, "How did you know all of that?!" He asked desperatly. All of his life secrecy was his greatest ally. Now this man knew more about him than Vin felt comfortable with.

Nathan smiled soothingly at the frightened young man, "I am a healer. When I touch someone I am in tune with thier body. I can tell anything that has to do with anything physical. You do not have to worry, I can not read your thoughts."

Ezra rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Hmmmm, regeneration...this is definitly the one we have been looking for. Mister Tanner, if you would be so kind as to step into the van with us we will take you to a place of safety."

Vin looked franticly around for a means of escape. These "mutants" if that's indeed what they were, wnated to experiment on him just like all the rest of the world. Ezra's words rang in his ears...'the one we have been looking for'. Before the young man could act however, his thoughts were interrupted by the man in the black duster.

"Hey! Don't you think that's up to him?" He asked pointing to the visibly shaken young man. "Doesn't look to me like he wants to go with you."

JD stepped in just then and galantly placed himself between his rescuer and Ezra, "You aren't taking him anywhere. He saved my life."

The blue skinned man spoke then, "Young man there is no need for anyone to be frightened or mistrustful. I and my collegues are merely here to rally more mutants to our cause of fighting against the GIF and the Mutant Registration Act." He turned his gaze to Vin and he smiled sympatheticly, "We do not wish to perform any of the experiments on you that you are even now imagining. We are your friends and we only wish for your assistance in our cause."

Vin listened intently to the man's tone, nothing in it sounded false or menacing. Oh how he wanted to belive this man. That there could be a safe place for mutants in this world was a thought that excited the young man to his very core. But that excitment was tempered with the knowledge that Stryker would be after him. The evil man that desired to create the Ultimate Weapon...Weapon X! His past failure with the mutant Vin knew only as Wolverine was sure to make the corrupt man even more eager to get his hands on Tanner and complete the process. Could these men be from Stryker? Until he was sure Vin decided that trusting them was out of the question...

"We are not from, William Stryker," Josiah said gently with a smile of faint amusement oh his face.

Vin's eyes lit with fury, "You've been reading my thoughts!!!" Almost as a reflex the ten inch claws slid out into readiness.

Josiah's smile vanished and he looked hard at the ice blue eyes of the young man, "I had to know that you were not an agent of the GIF. I am now satisfied that you are not." Vin's eyes flicked over to where Chris and Buck stood, silently watching the exchange. "Neither are they," Josiah answered Vin's unspoken question.

Reluctantly Vin withdrew his claws and sighed. He looked over at Chris again, "Well what do you think?" He asked, he did not know why but he trusted this man. If the man in black said it was ok then he would go with these men...

"FREEZE! WE HAVE YOU SURROUNDED!" Came the call over a police siren. Larabee shook his head and looked at Tanner. "I don't think now is the time to be analitical! Let's go!" Together all the mutants jumped into the waiting van and with Nathan at the wheel sped off, crashing through the police barrier as they did so.

~M7-X-Men~

Vin looked in shock out the windshield of the van as they approached what Ezra kept calling the doorway. All Vin could see was a fifty foot waterfall looming up in front of them. Just as he thought they were going straight through it the water parted and allowed the van inside, closing behind them.

"Whoa," Vin said in amazment.

"Impressive," Larabee said with a smirk.

Ezra smiled as he pulled up in front of a large stone building in the cave behind the waterfall, "Yes, isn't it? We have spent many long years and much of my ever dwindling bank account to making this place safe for mutants." Ezra explained as he parked the van and climbed out.

The others followed his example and piled out of the van. They then followed Josiah to the door of the building. He hesitated before he opened it though. "What you are about to see is top secret," Josiah warned the newcomers. "If word gets out where we are then the GIF will shut us down and put us all behind bars.

Larabee nodded and moved a little closer to the big mutant, "I'm sure we all understand how serious this situation is now open the door."

"Why so impatient?" Ezra asked.

Chris lowered his head and then looked Standish in the eye, "It's personal," he growled. Josiah aslo caught Ezra's eye and shrugged then he pulled the door open. Behind the door was an entire underground city, there were places to buy food and clothes, laboratories, factories and personal dwellings. Vin could not help the gasp of surprise. Never before had he seen anything so wonderful even in all his travels aound the world.

"Like it?" Ezra asked noting that JD was breathing hard.

JD swallowed and wiped away a tear, "It's great. I wish my mom had known about this place." He added softly.

Sensing the tension mounting, Nathan interupted, "Well how about a tour?"

~M7-X-Men~

After three months in the cave the three newcomers had finally begun to relax a little. There had been no raids or worry about Stryker and his goons for weeks.

Tanner leaned against a lampost and looked down the artificially lit street and sighed. Even though he felt safe here and knew that Stryker and the GIF would probably never find this place he was still tense. Being underground caused Vin's claustrophobia to flare up even though the cavern he was standing in was well over thirty feet tall and three hundred feet wide. He still felt the opressive weight of the stone and earth hanging over his head. Suddenly he could take it no longer and began walking for the exit. Before he was halfway there he was jogging and by the time he reached it he was running flat out. He was stopped at the gate by Larabee. They had all been warned not to go outside unless in an emergency because they could be spotted. Larabee stopped Vin with an arm then seeing the panic in the young man's face his eyes grew concerned and he grabbed Tanner's shoulders with both hands.

"Are you ok, Tanner?"

Breathing hard Vin fought Chris' grasp, "No! Let me go!"

Chris frowned, someting had spooked the young man and his experience these past months was that that was something that didn't happen easily. "Not until you tell me what's up." He said gently.

Vin struggled a few sew seconds more then he looked up into Larabee's eyes, "I have to get out of here for a few minutes."

"Why?"

Vin closed his eyes, "I can't stand being underground."

"Claustrophobic?"

"Yeah."

"You should have just told me. I know an easy way out of here," Chris motioned for Vin to follow and then moved off easily for a small door. Once through it they were out in the cool night air. Vin took a long shuddering breath and let the wind tousle his hair.

Chris watched Tanner relax in silence for a minute then he broke in, "You know? We've been here for three months and you have not even told us what your, er, power is." Chris said for lack of a better word.

Vin looked back at Chris and smirked, "You havn't shared that either."

"Hey you saw me in action..." Chris started to protest but he realized that his argument was futile. Tanner had been fighting as well that night but they hadn't been watching each other they had been ever alert for danger. Larabee sighed, "Alright, I am telekinetic. I have the power to move things with my mind."

Vin whistled lowly, "Wow, I have never met someone with telekinis."

"Alright I told mine, your turn."

Tanner smiled, "I am a failed experiment. I have always had the ability to heal rapidly and when Stryker found me he brought me to his laboratory and gave me these," Vin said as he slid his claws from their sheaths. Holding his hand in a fist he showed the ten-inch claws to Larabee. My entire skeleton is covered in adamantium. That along with my natural ability to heal makes me very hard to kill."

Chris nodded, he had heard of Stryker's greatest mistake in a man named Logan or Wolverine. Apparently he had tried again with this young man. Larabee smiled grimly to himself. Some people never learn. "Well do you want to stay out here a little longer?"

"Yeah," Vin said quietly.

"Mind my company?"

Vin smiled, "Naw, I kind of feel sorry for you Larabee."

Chris looked vin with raised eyebrows, "Oh?"

"Yeah, until now you only had Bucklin to talk to, Now you can get an intelligent conversation," Tanner added laughing.

Chris laughed as well and then the two men let the soft breeze become the only sound as they truly relaxed in the knowledge that they were safe.

M7-X-Men

Gauwan smiled to himself as he saw the van on his viewscreen. At last, the small band of vigilantes that he had been hunting for so long. The fracass three months ago had alerted his people and he had finally gotten a positive ID on the van.

"And now they have Tanner on their team as well," Gauwan said out loud, settling back into his big leather chair. The vigilantes known as the Magnificent Seven would soon be guests at his private airport. Leaning back in his oversized leather armchair Gauwan absently rubbed his black gloved hand. The middle and first fingers stuck out stiffly as they were made of wood. He had lost the fingers in a battle with Tanner that the young man did not even remember. That had been so long ago, back when Gauwan was just a young scientist with a craving for power and a desire to cause pain. Pain intense and excruciating. The thrill of watching another's life taken from him. That is what Gauwan lived for. Tanner had been one of his ultimate projects.

Gauwan had been recruted by a man named William Stryker to take two mutants and make them into weapons, weapons that could not be detected until it was too late. It had been Stryker's job to form the adamantium claws and plates on the two men's bones. Gauwan's job was to find a means of controlling the men once the proceedure was over. Tanner had been the "Guinea pig" for Gauwan's evil experiments. Gauwan underestimated the young man's ingenuity however and Tanner escaped. Gauwan's failure cost him his position as Stryker's assistant and nearly his life. All that his deranged mind could think of now was sweet revenge. Tanner's death. If the other six were to die with him than that would be all the better.

M7-X-Men

JD stared hard at the picture of the young girl and elderly lady on the viewscreen. The soft hat and pigtails made the girl look even younger than the 18 years she had lived. But boy was she cute!

"...I think a frontal attack would be futile." Josiah said as the slide changed to a floor plan of a huge complex.

"I agree Josiah," Vin said as he walked up to the screen and pointed out the small room the women were being held in. "The cell is only accessable by two routes. One is through three guard posts and past several offices."

"Excuse me, Mister Tanner but I fail to see an alternate route," Ezra said, placing his feet on the coffee table in front of his chair, a smug air about him.

Vin allowed himself a small smile as he looked around the room at each of his new friends. Always before he had been feared or pursued by evil men intent on making him into a killer. These men however were different. They shared his troubles and fears as they too had faced thier share of evil men. Chris Larabee had lost his family to some of them. They would not allow any of their number to be hurt. "The way we'll have to take is through the ventilation shafts," Vin explained pointing out a network of blue lines criss-crossing the slide, representing the air ducts.

Ezra's eyes grew wide at the thought. When he had agreed to take on this case it was with the understanding that he would not have to do anything dirty. The other members of the team looked at him with smiles on their faces.

"What's wrong, Ez?" Buck asked sweetly.

Ezra straightned his tie and leaned forward a bit, "Mister Larabee, wouldn't it be prudent to leave a man behind to guard the escape vehicle?"

Chris pretended to think about this for a second then smiled, "You right, Ezra. That's a very good idea," Ezra's smile was quickly severed by Larabee's next announcement, "That's why Nathan will be staying behind."

Ezra's shoulders slumped, 'His brand new coat.'

"Can I help this time?" JD asked, he seldom got to go on these missions as he unlike the others except Josiah could not blend in with normal people.

Chris looked over at the young boy. Part of the reason that he left JD behind was because he did not want him getting hurt. Unfortuneatly his time there was no avoiding it. "Yeah, kid. We are going to need you to get the ladies out of the cell. JD's eyes widened at this.

"Chris I have to be able to see where I am going or else..."

"We know that," Buck cut in putting his arm around the boy's shoulders. "But I believe that you can do it." Slowly JD nodded, he would prove to the men that he was not just the kid of the group but that he was indeed a man.

"Well if that's all settled," Judge Travis said as he leaned foreward in his chair into the dim light from the projecter. "What is your plan, Mister Larabee?" Travis was not a mutant but he was sympathetic as his daughter in law had fallen head over heels for the black clad, somewhat myserious Larabee. He was the mutant's link to the GIF and their doings. Were it not for him the mutants would risk a lot more exposure than was healthy.

Larabee looked over at the Judge and nodded, it had been Travis that had asked the seven men to become partners in the fight against the GIF and it had also been his idea to make Chris the leader. Larabee was not going to let him down. "Vin, Ezra and I will go into the main part of the building and cause a diversion while JD and Buck get the ladies out. Nathan and Josiah will be at the van ready to gun it."

Travis nodded, "A sound plan, Mary will be in radio contact should you require assistance."

Chris nodded and fitted the tiny radio reciever into his ear, the rest of his men followed suit.

"We're ready," JD said excitedly at the thought of the upcoming rescue mission. Chris smiled and nodded,

"Mount up then." And with that the secret door behind the waterfall opened and the van roared off into the night.

M7-X-Men

The GIF headquarters building looked quiet in the morning sun as the M7 finally eached their destination. There were no visible guards or security about but each knew that the complex was indeed heavily secured. Vin sighed heavily as he tried to calm his frantic heart. Every time they went on a mission the same thought beat at him mercilessly, what if they were caught? What if they were forced to reveal the location of the mutant's secret cave? STOP IT! He mentally chided himself, everything would be alright.

"Your right," Josiah said softly from behind the tracker, "We will be fine, the Lord is on our side."

Nodding Vin looked at the other men as they approached the front gate. Chris looked calm and serious, JD looked nervous, Buck was forming tiny fire balls in his hand as he did when worried, Ezra was meticulously cleaning his already spotless jacket, Nathan at the wheel looked steadfast and sure, Josiah was praying softly for their safety as Vin knew each of the others was doing silently. "Please be with us." Vin whispered as two guards stepped out of the small shack by the gate, guns drawn.

"Halt!" One of them shouted harshly, "Identify yourselves!"

"Ready, Ez?" Tanner asked the flashily dressed card shark, at a nod from the gambler all the mutants except Nathan and Chris leaned together with Ezra in the center and with a little concentration on Standish's part they all vanished from sight! The guards came and one looked into the windows as the other checked the ID badge given Nathan by Travis. After three tense moments of uncertainty the guard motioned them onward as the gate was opened. Breathing a collective sigh of relief Ezra relaxed his mental concentration and the five men became visible once more.

"Whew!" JD said looking carefully out the back window, "Another minute like that and I think I would have thrown up!" Ezra looked in horror at the young man, visions of barf all over his new coat almost causing him to be ill. Buck laughed heartily and Nathan pulled the van to a halt in a secluded parking spot.

"Everyone ready?" Larabee asked looking each man in the eyes. At their nod they once again grasped hands except Larabee, and with him at the lead the invisible line headed for the door.

M7-X-Men

Gauwan rubbed his hand in excitement, at last the seven men had taken the bait and were headed into his trap! As soon as they were off guard he would spring it and they would be his!

M7-X-Men

JD stared at the steel door in front of him and readied himself. If his calculations were off he could end up inside a wall or somewhere similar. Taking a moment he went over the plan once again in his mind. Vin and Chris were causing a fair sized diversion over in the west wing of the building, Josiah and Nathan waited in the van and Buck stood guard over the hallway he and JD now stood. Taking a deep breath the young teleporter steeled himself for impact...

"JD!" Buck shouted, breaking the young man's concentration. "What in the blue blazes is keeping you so long?"

JD shook his head and ignoring the question teleported to what he hoped was the other side of the door. When he opened his eyes he was standing six inches inside the doorway. His whoop of celebration was cut off abruptly by the sight of and elderly woman holding a cot leg over him like a club. "Wait, wait!" JD squeaked, "I'm a friend!"

The woman's eyes narrowed, "How do I know you 'aint workin' for the GIF?"

JD swallowed hard, "You'll just have to trust me."

"Aw, come on Aunt Nettie," the girl JD had seen in the picture said as she stepped foreward out of the darkness. Her oversized long coat all but swallowing her, "Do you honestly think that someone so handsome and nice would be workin' for the GIF?"

JD felt his jaw drop at the young woman's words, before he could react she was over beside him looking into his eyes. "So you're really a teleporter? How do you do it? What is it like?..."

"Now, now, Casey, that's enough. Young man," she addressed JD, "Why are you here?"

"To..to," JD stuttered still at a loss over Casey's comments.

"Well spit it out boy!"

"We are here to rescue you!" JD said and then remebering the tight time frame they were in he rushed over to Nettie. "I can get you out of here, ou have to trust me!"

Nettie thought about this for a moment then pushed Casey int JD's arms. "Take my niece first. Make sure she's safe." JD nodded solomly then wrapping his arms around the girl he willed himself to teleport. A whisp of smoke and a loud bang and JD was on the other side. Casey trembled in his grasp.

"Are you alright, Miss Casey?" JD asked worridly.

"I..I think so," she said shakily, "I just have never done that before."

JD smiled and tried to look smug but the sight of Buck's annoyed face peeking around the corner made him go leaping back for Nettie. A few seconds later they joined up with Ezra who once again cloaked them with his invisibility and they made for the door. Buck tried to keep the creepy feeling he was getting at bay, that was just way too easy.

M7-X-Men

Vin broke off fom the rest of the group once inside the building. JD and Buck rushed off to get the women, Ezra stationed himself not far away for the escape and Vin followed Chris into the main office area. At the sight of the two men a few of the typists felt their hair beginning to rise. Three of the smart ones headed for the door across from the one the mutants had just come through. Chris looked over at Vin who was watching the getaways. "Ready?" Chris asked telepathicly.

Vin looked over at him in surprise, "I didn't know you could do that?" he whispered.

Larabee smiled smugly, "I am just full of surprises. Let's go!" And with that the two men began tearing the place apart. Chris began throwing deasks and chairs around with his mind and Vin extended his claws and began hacking at everything in sight. Although to the untrained eye it would appear that the two men had simply gone beserk, the trained person would see that every move was in perfect harmony. Every one in the room diving for cover was carefully avoided and untouched. It was as if the two had become one.

M7-X-Men

Buck looked over at the van, still parked where they had left it. At least it looks alright, he thought to himself, still trying to shake the feeling that something was wrong. "Alright, JD," Buck said as he and the kid broke off from Ezra's bubble of invisibility. "Are you ready for this?"

JD smiled wanly, "Yes...I think."

"Just remember now, I'll keep em off ya you just get Chris and Vin out of there, savy?"

"I know, Buck." JD said with mock annoyance. "Let's go!"

M7-X-Men

Vin looked around the room in growing anxiety, as he knew would happen the guards were streaming through the doors now that the alarm had been sounded by the escaped typists. There were at least twenty in the room now and the fight was going sour. Thankfully the guards were only carrying tranquilizer darts which had little effect on Tanner but he knew they were taking their toll on Larabee. "Where is JD?" he yelled to his partner over the fight. Turning slightly to face the younger man, Chris tried to force his increasingly sluggish brain to process Vin's question over the effects of the tranquilizers being shot into him. Before he could reply however there was an acrid smell of gunsmoke and he felt JD grab him and in a second he was out in the parking lot where he collapsed into Buck's arms. Another flash of smoke and Vin stood there beside the dazed telekinetic, a worried look on his face.

"Chris?" Vin shouted but his voice seemed to fade as Chris lost the battle to stay concious. The growing darkness took him and he knew no more.

M7-X-Men

"I think he's coming around."

"Are you sure?"

"He's been out for hours."

"Well he had a lot of seditives pumped into him."

"Look I just saw his eyes move."

"Hey there, Cowboy. You awake?"

These voices drifted into Larabee's mind as he struggled to pull himself out of the vat of peanut butter he felt like he was in. Every move he made seemed slowed down and the voices around him seemed to blur into one as slowly, slowly, he forced his eyes open. It took a moment for his vision to clear enough to see the circle of faces staring down at him. Vin, Buck, Josiah, JD, Ezra, Nathan, at least every one was safe, but, who were the women? Then in a rush everthing seemed to come back to him. The mission, he and Vin had been fighting, he had been shot with tanquilizer darts, JD had teleported him out and.... then his memory failed him.

"Where am I?"

Vin smiled as the green eyes opened after more than six hours of unconciousness, "Hey there, how are ya' feelin'?"

Chris grimaced and slowly sat up, his head spinning, "Like I spent the night in a mexican border town."

Vin's grin grew wider, "In other words a huge hangover?"

Larabee shook his head, a slight smile gracing his features, "The worst. But you didn't answer my question, where are we?"

Vin smile faded and changed to a look of confusion, "I don't know, 'Pard."

Chris frowned, "What?"

"It appears that we have been abducted by some cretinous creature wishing to keep himself anonymous until he feels we are properly curious," Ezra explained.

Chris' look of confusion grew, "What?"

"What he means is we are being held in some sort of underground bunker by someone we have not even seen," Nathan explained.

"How?" Larabee asked, last he knew thaey were doing well.

"It was a trap."

Chris nodded and tried to stand, glancing over at the two women in the corner standing still.

"Hey, Nate. How is it that you can understand what he's saying?" Vin asked as he helped Larabee to his feet.

Nathan smiled, "I used to "work" with a lot of, erm, southern gentlemen."

Ezra winced, "I am sorry if our first meeting was not entirely...uh...civil?" he said, for once at a loss for words. He had met Nathan when the two were asked by Travis to locate the mutant known as Weapon X. Standish had refused once he saw the color of his partner's skin. He had later learned how sadly mistaken he had been when Jackson had to pull him back from the brink of death after a run in with William Stryker.

Jackson nodded, "I forgave you for that a long time ago." A simple nod from Ezra and all was back to normal.

Larabee pushed Tanner away once he was sure he could stand on his own. After a few shaky steps he could feel his strength returning rapidly. Nathan still was abit concerned at the amount of hit Larabee had taken in the last battle but his warnings fell on deaf ears.

"Well, well," a loud voice came over a hidden loud speaker. At the sound Casey ran to JD and drew his arm around her in fear. "It's about time you woke up, Larabee." Chris whirled around vainly in search of the source of the noise. Unconciously Vin unsheathed his claws.

"Now, now," the voice said admonishingly, "You won't need those." and before he could react Vin felt a sudden jerk as he was pinned to the wall. Struggling was futile he soon discovered, the electromagnets inside the wall holding him fast.

A chuckle came from the loudspeaker as Larabee and Wilmington tried desperately to free their trapped friend. "Don't bother, the adamantium in his skeleton will hold him very nicely."

"Who are you and what do you want?!?" Larabee shouted, the blood veins in his neck bulging as his anger grew.

Instead of an answer the only door to the room slid open and framed in the blinding light stood a man in a metal helmet. He held an M-16 in his hands trained on Nettie Wells, the look on his face told the he would not hesitate to shoot. "Whay don't you ask your friend, Tanner who I am."

Chris glanced over at his friend, spread-eagled on the wall, "Do you know this man, Tanner?"

Vin frowned in concentration, slowly his eyes lit up with recognition, "Gauwan?"

Gauwan smiled, "Very good, I knew that memory stamp wouldn't work on you."

Tanner's eyes narrowed dangerously, "You...I oughta' kill you here and now!"

Gauwan could barely contain his humor at this, "Go ahead, Tanner. Try to kill me." He ginned at the look of defeat on the young mutant's face. Glancing over he saw a puzzled look on Larabee's face as the man extended his hand towards him. Again the small man laughed, "Allow me to explain why you can't rip my gun from my hands," Gauwan said patronizingly. "I have perfected a partical wave wich allows me to suppress the mutant gene. It is even now being broacast in here, so in other words your precious powers will not work in this room. The only one of you that could pose threat was Vin but as you can see he's quite well taken care of." As he talked Gauwan had been edging over to stand in front of Tanner. "His adamantium claws work against him here," he said with a smile and the turned a whipped a left hook into the helpless man's unprotected misdection. Vin tried to lash out with his foot but he could not break the magnet's hold. Coughing he tried to regain his breath.

"Hurt did it?" Gauwan asked in mock sympathy as he snapped his fingers. Three man dressed in camoflauge ran into the room, each trained their weapons on one of the helpless mutants. Once sure that no one was going to try and stop him, Gauwan turned once again to his prisoner. "Well imagine how this felt!" He said, viciously stabbing his fingers at Tanner's face. Tanner could see that the middle fingers were prosthetic. At Vin's look of confusion Gauwan continued his tirade, "You did this to me as well as cost me my position and my life!" He said begining to pace, "After you escaped I became a hunted man. Stryker would do anything to see me dead!" His voice trailed off and then he turned to face Tanner, a wicked grin spreading across his features, "But now I will have my revenge!" He whispered his face inches from Tanner's own. "You will see what fifteen years of plotting have resulted in."

Larabee silently wished he had never agreed to this mission. Now thanks to him Vin was about to be horribly tortured and he didn't expect much less for himself and the other mutants in the room. How wrong he was. Gauwan turned on his heel and marched over to the man in black. "I have a surprise for you, Larabee." Gauwan motioned to the door and another human came in this one female.

"Hello, Chris." She said softly edging towards him. Once fully in the shadows of the room Larabee could make out her face. "Ella?" He asked, shocked. The last time he had seen Ella Gaines was ten years ago before he married Sarah. He had been young and foolish, thinking that she had something he wanted. Her reputation was that of a "Bad girl" and somehow that appealed to the reckless side of Chris Larabee's nature. They had become friends over the few weeks that followed their meeting and Chris began to feel that she did not deserve the mark society branded upon her until one evning she asked him over to her place. Once there she began making advances on him and Chris at only 18 was scared by the forcefullness in the woman. He managed to get away from her and thought it was all over....until now.

"Ella," he greeted.

She placed her hands on Larabee's shoulders and leaned into his chest, "I am so scared. These men brought me here and said they were going to use me as bait in a trap for you if they did not catch you in the ambush." She snuggled closer to him and Chris' rage grew. It was not enough to have the seven man but to use the poor frightened woman cowering in his arms proved the crazed Gauwan's cowardice to be greater than his sense. Ella could see the anger building in Chris' eyes and smiled secretly. Her plan was going according to schedule, Larabee would soon be hers!"

M7-X-Men

Nettie walked over to the battered form lying motionless on the floor and gently turned him over. Gauwan was enjoying the fact that with his partical wave in the air Vin could not heal himself and had driven home his advantage nearly beating the young man to death. Carefully placing Vin's head in her lap Nettie used a small piece torn from her dress as a rag to mopp the sweat pouring off Tanners brow. She silently thanked God that Gauwan had turned off the electromagnet holding Vin to the wall. She looked around the nearly empty room, one by one the others had been taken away to seperate holding rooms as Gauwan knew that together they could defeat him. She felt a sudden rush of air as the door opened and Guwan stood there, the two men at his sides holding a strange metal contraption. At the snap of Gauwan's fingers they rushed foreward and placed the contraption on Tanner's uncouncious form despite Nettie's protests.

"Why are you doing this!?" she asked Gauwan, her eyes flashing. She could see now that the contraption was a holding device that forced Vin's knuckles towards his chest. Unsheathing his claws now would likely mean death.

Gauwan smirked, "Well I need Tanner to be all healed up and ready for the next phase of my brilliant plan therefore I am turning the partical wave off in this room to allow him to regenerate."

Nettie had to force herself not to rip this guy limb from limb s she knew she could be no help to Vin dead. "Why am I still here?" She asked wondering why she hadn't been hauled off with the others.

Gauwan smiled again, "I need someone to stay here and talk Tanner out of trying to free himself. As you can see the only way he could would be to stab himself in the cest and that could most certainly mean death. He would not be as likely to try it if you were here in the room with him."

"How do you know he won't be able to heal fast enough to prevent death."

"I don't, so we'll see if he tries it." And with that the small man was gone and Nettie was left shaking with rage at the injustice done to the mutant race and this poor young man at her feet.

M7-X-Men

"Chris!" the fervent whisper came through the barred window to his cell. Frowing Chris drew himself from imagineing what horrors were being done to his friends. Friends now when had they become friends? Larabee smiled at the thought, he did not know when it had happened but he knew that for the first time since Sarah's death he had allowed people into his life. The six men were closer to him than just friends, they more resembled brothers.

"CHRIS!" The voice whispered again, this time with more urgency.

"What? Who's there?"

"It's me, Ella. I managed to escape and I have the keys to your cell with me. The guard is asleep if we hurry we can get away!" As she talked Ella worked at the lock, finally opening the door to Larabee's cell. She and Gauwan had planned this escape down to the second and thankfully it was working. "Follow me, I know a way out."

Chris stopped suddenly causing Ella to stop as well, "Wait!"

"What is it?" she asked impatiently.

"I am not leaving without the others, all of them," Chris explained taking the keys from Ella's hands and starting back up the corridor. He could still feel the dampening effect of the Partical wave even out here in the hallway. Gauwan was taking no chances. A hand on his shoulder caused Larabee to stop and turn to face Ella once more. Her face was a mask of rage.

"You are not going after them you are coming with me!" She snarled, snatching the keys away from the shocked man.

Chris shook his head, what was going on here? Grabbing the woman's wrist he gently pried open her fist and took the keys once more, "I will not leave without the others. Is that clear!?"

She shrank back from the infamous Larabee glare but still she tried to persuade him to come with her. "Please, Chris, I love you." But her cries fell on deaf ears as Larabee headed once more up the hall to the other cells. "Chris!" she shrieked, "I have worked so hard to bring us together....I even got rid of your family so we could start over again..." before she could complete her tirade Chris' hand was around her throat.

"What did you just say about my family?!?" he asked menaceingly, tightning his grip.

"I.." Ella choked, "You're hurting me!"

"I'll kill you if you don't answer me!"

Ella could see the darkness creeping into Chris' eyes as he shook her and she knew that he would indeed kill her, "Alright!" She gasped, "I hired some men to burn your house and kill your family! But I only did it for us! Don't you see? I love you!"

Chris' grip relaxed as he realized that his three year hunt for his family's killer was over. He had dreamed of this moment for years but he could not kill a woman in cold blood, even if she was pure evil.

M7-X-Men

Vin's eyes fluttered as he regained conciousness, his head felt like jackhammers were at work in it and his mouth was dry as a desert. Opening his eyes he saw Nettie Wells worried face looming over him.

"How 'r ya' feelin', son?" she asked gently brushing a few strands of hair from his forehead.

Vin took a deep breath, "I think I'll be ok."

Nettie smiled, "Course you will, you've been comin' along nicely since they turned off that partical wave."

Vin tried to move then realized that his arms were being held against his chest, "What the..."

"It's locked, I tried to get it off but I can't," Nettie explained. With her help Vin struggled to a sitting position, his wounds were almost healed now and within a few minutes he would be good as new. Gauwan was nowhere in sight and Vin took this as a good sign. Looking down at the position his arms were in he realized there was no easy way out.

"I can get out of this..."

"No!" Nettie said harshly. "I won't have you killing yourself for nothing."

Vin cocked his head playfully, he liked this woman. "How do you know it would be for nothing?" he asked.

Nettie tried to think of a good reply but none was forthcoming, "What if you die?"

Vin grew serious, "I will and most likely all of us ifn' I don't try."

Nettie lowered her gaze knowing Vin was right, "Ok...but what if Gauwan sees you. I think he's got a camera in here somewhere."

Vin frowned in concentration, "Bend over me like you were, he shouldn't be able to see what I'm doing then," he whispered. Nettie shuddered at the thought of what Tanner was about to do the nodded. Vin lay back down complaining for the benifit of anyone listening that his head hurt and Nettie leaned over him.

"Ready?" Vin asked softly. The grey eyes full of tears now squeezed shut and Nettie nodded.

Vin nodded as well the steeled himself. He could not help the look of shock and pain that twisted his features when the ten inch claws slid into his chest but he managed not to cry out. Twisting his wrists he sliced through the metal holding him then fell back to the floor finding it hard to breath.

"Nettie..." he forced out, "We have...to go...now!"

Nettie's grey eyes focused on Vin's blue ones, "You take a minute and rest," she ordered.

Vin's eyes closed against the pain, "I can't Nettie. If Gauwan turns on the magnet I am helpless. We have to get out of here."

Nettie's shoulders slumped as she once agin saw the truth in Vin's statement. Slowly supporting part of his weight on the older woman before him Vin stood, his shirt now soaked with his own blood. Carefully he moved to the door, now to cut through the lock!

M7-X-Men

Gauwan lay on his bunk dozing in exaustion from his last session with Tanner. He smiled in his sleep, remembering the look of pain and helplessness on his arch enemy's face as each blow conected. His pleasent memories were interrupeted by a frantic knocking on the door. Growling in annoyance he got up and swung the door open to reveal his Captain.

"What is it and it had better be important!?"

"Yes sir," the man said saluting, "Tanner and the woman have escaped and Larabee has not."

"What?"

The plan you made with Gaines, Sir, about her and Larabee leaving together? Well they haven't."

"And Tanner?"

"He cut through the restraints and the door lock and escaped. He is somewhere loose on the base."

Gauwan shoved past the man and into the control room where a hundred tv screens told him of all that went on inside his mountain. Much to his dismay another of the seven's cells were empty. It was that rotten teleporter. He knew he should have killed him when he had the chance. "Call every available man to the search!" Gauwan shrieked to the Corporal at the terminal. "I want them found, NOW!!"

M7-X-Men

"Hey kid," Tanner asked as he sliced open the door to JD's cell. "You ok?"

JD nodded, "Yeah."

Tanner nodded and patted JD on the shoulder.

"Hey but you don't look so good," JD said pointing at the blood soaking Tanner's shirt and noting his ragged breathing.

"I'm ok kid," Vin smiled, "I hear you're pretty good with electronics?"

JD nodded, "I sure am. What do you need me to do?"

"Well the way I figure it is the partical wave has to be electrically transmitted. If we can shut down the power we should be able to get the other and get out of here."

JD nodded eagerly, "Just point me to the control box."

Vin frowned, "Well I don't know where it is but..."

"I do," Nettie interrupted. The two men turned to her with incredulous looks on their faces.

"While you were unconcious I did a little looking around," she said tapping the side of her head. "My mutation allows me to explore places..um...virtually!"

Vin smiled and drew her into a hug, "I knew I liked you."

M7-X-Men

Chris turned away from Ella and tried to clear his head, this wasn't happening the way he thought it would at all. The lights flickered then shut off, emergency lighting taking over but Larabee didn't even notice through the turmoil in his mind. Ella Gaines, the woman he once thought he loved...had killed...without completing his thought he turned to face her once more and to his shock he found himself looking into Sarah's face.

"Sarah?" He asked hardly believing his eyes. He reached out to touch her face and to his surprise she did not melt away as the dream he thought she was. He skin felt warm and real.

"Oh, Chris...I've missed you," she said laying her head on his shoulder. Larabee felt tears come to his eyes at the thought of his beloved wife still alive and in his arms but then reality took hold of his senses. Roughly he jerked her away from him, "You're a shapeshifter aren't you Ella Gaines!"

Sarah's face melted into Ella's, her eyes black with anger. "I will have you, Chris Larabee!" she shrieked as she struggled in his grasp.

"I don't think so!" Came another female voice from behind Larabee, he turned and saw Mary standing there, her eyes flashing in anger at the woman known as Ella Gaines. Before he could react Ella jerked away from him and made for the blonde woman. Mary calmly brought her hands up in front of her and a strange blue light formed around them And instant later Ella was halted dead in her tracks as she ran into Mary's force field, the impact knocking her unconcious.

Chris stared at Mary, his eyes wide, mouth hanging open.

"Well if we're going to free the others we had better get moving," Mary said as she headed for the cell block. Chris smiled and followed her.

M7-X-Men

Vin felt his breathing ease as JD shut the power down. Once had left the protection of his and Nettie's cell he had instantly felt his regenerative ability fail him as the partical wave was present in the hallways. Finally he was healing properly and the relief he felt was shared by his two companions as well.

"Well I fixed so that no one will be able to get it up and running for a while," JD said as he stepped from the control room. Glancing down the hall they stood in he saw the two guards that had been watching this area bound and gagged and sleeping like babies.

"Ezra's cell is next," Nettie said leading the way to a barred door. Vin sliced it open without any trouble and soon Ezra stood with them, complaining as usual about how long they had taken to free him. Vin rolled his eyes and JD laughed. The next cell in line was Casey's before he could open the door however, Vin's keen hearing picked up the sound of running feet. At least ten men were headed in this dirtection and four cells still remained.

"JD you get Casey and I'll be working on these others!" Vin shouted and without hesitation JD dissapeared into the cell, emerging a second later with Casey in his arms. Nettie ran to see if she was hurt but the girl was fine. Vin rushed to the next cell and opened it to reveal Josiah Sanchez in the middle of a prayer of thanks. He had felt the rush of power return to him when the electricity had been terminated.

"Thank you, Vin," he said as he stepped out the door with him. Vin's enhanced eyesight saw a haze of gunsmoke a second before JD appeared with Nathan. The healers concern for the amount of blood on Vin's clothes was brushed off as the last door suddenly lit up red hot and then melted away as Buck stepped from within, his fires dissapating.

"Vin!" Came a familier shout, Tanner turned and to his relief and shock saw Chris and Mary come running up to them but before reunions and questions could be asked the men Vin had heard burst into the room. They had been joined by another troop along the way and now numbered twenty men all together. But the seven were together now and there was no stopping them.

At Larabee's command Mary threw up a force field that blocked the soldiers bullets but allowed Vin and the others through.

Slashing madly with his claws Vin knew that at least three men were out of action, spinning around to face the next man he almost smiled. This was too easy!

JD laughed at the confused look on the men's faces as he appeared and dissapeared so fast that he seemed to be all around them at the same time. Two had been dissarmed and another was holding his stunned wrist where JD had whipped it with his tail. JD smirked, this was fun!

Usually a quiet man Josiah when riled became a roaring ball of fury. No one could keep up with him as he laid out first one and then another of Gauwan's men Before he realized it the fight was over. Looking around the room, his chest heaving as he tried to regain his composure, Josiah sent up a silent prayer of thanks.

"Where's Vin?" Chris asked suddenly, breaking evryone's concentration. Sure enough, Vin was nowhere to be seen.

M7-X-Men

Vin threw open door after door in search of the man resposible for all of this but again and again he was greeted simply with empty rooms. A sudden sound drew his attention upwards. Listening this time he made it out. It was the sound of a chopper starting up. _"Oh no you don't!"_ Vin whispered under his breath as he took the stairs to the chopper pad three at a time. Once at the top he saw the chopper's blades begining to turn as the motor warmed up. Vin rushed foreward and threw open the door only to be greeted by a sharp fist in the face that knocked him back on his rear. A figure jumped from the chopper and landed astraddle his chest. Before he could get his hands up the person threw three quick punches into his face. By now Vin was mad and he rolled over quickly throwing the person from him. Instantly he was on his feet, charging after them. He was met head on and in the ensuing battle each fighter gave as good as he got until suddenly Vin had the upper hand. Twisting the guy around he came face to face with....a woman? His shock was his undoing as the woman gave him a karate chop to the neck and he blacked out.

M7-X-Men

Chris heard the sound of the chopper and headed for the stairs, the fear he felt for Vin growing with each step. He reached the pad just in time to Vin's limp form thrown into it then it took off before he could stop it. Reaching out with his telekinis he tried to stop the chopper in the air, he saw it shudder but he couldn't hold it at that distance. Sadly he watched as the helicopter headed out of sight, he heard the others coming up the stairs behind him and knew that they would be helpless too.

"What happened?" Buck asked as he saw the look of despair on his friend's face.

Chris lowered his gaze, "They got Vin....he's on the chopper." A sudden movement caught his eye and he looked over at Casey who had dropped her huge overcoat to reveal a set of angelic white wings. Chris felt his jaw drop as the young girl spread them out. They had to be ten feet across!

Casey turned to the stunned telekinetic, "I can get you to the helicopter."

Chris shook his head, "I can't let you..." but before he could finish the girl flapped her wings, flew over to him and a minute later they were airborne. Casey looked back at the rooftop behind her and couldn't help but smile at the amazed look on JD's face.

M7-X-Men

Vin came to not thirty seconds after being hit. His first sensation was one of flight and the his jumbled mind told him he was on the chopper. Sitting up quickly, the effects of the blow to his neck all but gone, he looked around the cockpit. Gauwan was at the controls and the woman he had been fighting with a few seconds ago was staring at him as if she had no idea who he was. Vin took in thee woman's confused look with consideration. Why did she look so surprised?

"Wondering about your lady friend?" Gauwan asked he took Vin's silence as an affirmitive. "She is a mutant very much like you. She can heal rapidly but she does not have your claws alas. Her other gift is that of speech. She has only to hear a few words and she can speak the language like a native as well as mimic the one who said them."

"Impressive," Vin said taking stock of his situation. He didn't dare try anything violent or the chopper could go out of control and crash, killing them all. He had to stall Gauwan, "Why does she look so confused?"

"Another of my inventions," Gauwan said, liking the idea of bragging on his accomplishments, "It is an acid that controls the mind of the mutant it is applied to. Unfortuneately this girl is too strong for the acid to last very long. It wears off far too soon."

Vin cocked his head, "I thought that Stryker came up with that."

"NO!" Gauwan shouted, convulsing in anger causing the chopper to lurch dangerously. "Everyone thought that he did but it was me!!! I am the mastermind behind all of Stryker's ideas!! Me, Me, ME!" With this last outburst the helicopter lurched again but this time Gauwan had not moved the controls. Vin looked out the window for an explaination and to his surprise and relief he saw Casey supporting Chris who had caught the chopper in a force grip. The chopper shuddered as Chris strained to hold it but it was firmly meshed in the metephysical ties that Larabee held. Turning back to his captors Vin saw that the woman had come out of her stupor and was franticly tapping his shoulder.

"What is it?" Tanner asked, still wary of the dark eyes woman.

"He's trying to set a self destruct!" she shouted pointing to Gauwan who was busy hooking some wires together.

"It's too late!" Gauwan shouted triumphantly. "I have finished it! We have two minutes before we all die! I may not live to enjoy it but I will have killed you, Tanner!" Gauwan threw back his head and laughed at the horrified experessions on the mutants faces. Vin knew that to jump would be suicide but he could see no other options. Chris was tiring just trying to hold the helicopter still there was no way he could handle two people as well.

"We have to jump!" He called to the woman, throwing open the door of the helicopter. The wind from the whining blades nearly ripping him right out into space!

"ARE YOU CRAZY?" She asked over the roar of the wind but Vin was talking to Chris.

_"We are going to jump."_

_"No!"_

_"We have to!"_

_"No you don't. I'll get you."_

_"You can't hold us and the helicopter!"_

A pause and then _"Wait I have a plan!" _

_"We don't have time there's a bomb...!" _But Chris was not listning to Vin as he was concentrating on something else. Vin looked once more at the scared woman beside him. Her eyes were dark brown, almost black matching her hair. Her skin was a beautiful shade of brown and her mouth was perfectly shaped.

"Are you ok?" Vin asked her.

She looked at him, her eyes wide with fear, "Do I look ok?! I can not jump!"

"You have to..."

"No! Neither of you do," came a familier voice from behind them. Vin whipped around and to his joy saw JD in the cockpit. "Hold on!" He said as he took one of the woman's hands and pulled her into his embrace and then like that they were gone. Vin smiled JD knew that he would not go until the lady was safe and so had not even caused a fuss.

"NOOOOOOO!!!" Gauwan shrieked, "I have worked too hard to see you live now!" And with that he grabbed Vin's throat and jerked him out of the chopper! Time seemed to slow as they fell, Vin could see Chris' look of shock as he tried to adjust his grip to catch the falling men but the huge explosion of the bomb on board the helicopter knocked him back out of reach. Vin felt the shock of the blast as well and as he drifted into unconciousness he sent up a prayer of thanks that he would not feel the impact at the bottom of the valley.

M7-X-Men

Vin slowly became aware as conciousness returned to him. The smaell of antiseptic and medicine helped him to idetify his surroundings. He was in the clinic at the mutants underground base. That ment he had survived the fall...but how? Opening his eyes Tanner looked around the darkened room. The curtains were drawn about the bed and there was no one in sight except someone asleep in the chair beside him. Twisting around, Vin saw that it was the woman he had fought with at the helipad. His movements caused her to wake up and she smiled when she saw him awake.

"Hey there," she said softly, placing a delicate hand on his forehead, "How are you feeling?"

"Great," Vin said wondering how long he had been out and where Chris was.

"Oh and if you are wondering about Larabee he is asleep on the other side of the curtain. Nathan said not to wake him. And Casey Wells is just fine. Chris managed to use his telekinis to shield her from the blast."

Vin nodded, relived that everyone seemed to be ok, "And you?" He asked.

She blushed, "I am fine thanks to you and JD."

"No after affects from the acid?" Vin asked gently.

She looked down, her smile vanishing, "I hope not. I saw myself do some awful things while under the influence of that drug..."

Vin took her hand in his, "You are safe here."

She smiled again and her face lit up the entire room, "Thank you."

Vin smiled, "Hey I don't even know your name!"

"Jesse."

"Jesse...what?"

She shrugged, "I don't know."

Vin nodded his understanding. There were gaps in his memory as well from the torture he had recieved at the hands of Stryker and Gauwan. "It's ok."

She nodded and her eyes sparkled, "I know."

M7-X-Men

It had been three weeks since gauwan had been defeated and Vin was itching to get out on another mission. He had been fully recovered since the night he had talked to Jesse in his hospital room. The sixty foot fall he had taken not slowing him down in the least. The only thing holding him back was Chris who' s injuries did not heal as quickly as Tanner's. But eventually he was on his feet as well and rareing to go. But Judge Travis had still not found a case for them as he was still in shock over the discovery that his daughter in law was a mutant as well. He was sypathetic with all mutants but if one was killed or hurt it was always someone else who had to make funeral arrangements, someone else who had to say goodbye to a loved one, not him. He had lost his son to burglers two years ago and he could not bear the thought of losing his beloved daughter in law. No matter how hard she tried to convince him that she would be ok he just would not belive it. And then there was Billy. Was he a mutant as well, just not old enough for the tell tale symptoms to show?

As he contemplated these things Judge Travis sat at his desk, a picture of his son in his hands, a tear in his eye. What would he do now? A shadow passed over the desk and he looked up to see the seven men he had hired to protect the mutant base standing in front of him. Chris stepped foreward.

"We'll keep her safe," he simply said and the other men nodded. It was as if a huge weight had been lifted from the Judge's shoulders. He smiled, stood and shook Larabee's hand heartily. He did not know why but he trusted these men...even with his family's lives.

"Well what are we standing around for?" He asked, "There are four mutants being held in Kansas City..." the rest of his briefing trailed off as he walked down the long hall to the parking garage where his car awaited them. Chris and Vin lagged behind a little and turned to each other.

"Ella Gaines?" Vin asked

"Never found her."

"So she's still out there."

"We'll find her." and with that the two men followed the others out the door and into their news lives.

THE END

(Wahoo!)


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